Verse 20 - Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

[A] Wisdom crieth without [1] In the first part of Chapter one, Solomon was teaching the errors of harkening to the temptations of Satan [1] In the remainder of the chapter, Solomon shows how dangerous it is not to hearken to the call of God [2] By whom God calls to us - by wisdom. It is wisdom that crieth without. Ephesians 3:10. 10. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, [a] God speaks to the children of men by all the kinds of wisdom, [b] He speaks to us in His every will, [c] In every word God speaks he gives us counsel

[B] We spoke before about what wisdom is, I want to add a bit to that this evening: [1] Human understanding is wisdom Job 38:36 36. Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart? [a] True wisdom comes from God, it is he who puts wisdom in our heart, and makes us what we are [b] The spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord and wherever they God they might hear a voice in them saying this is the way to go [2] Civil government is wisdom [a] It is God' who ordains government [b] Government will answer to him for their wisdom or lack thereof [3] Divine revelation is wisdom [a] All its dictates, all its laws, are wisdom from God [4] Christ is Wisdom [a] In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [b] He is the centre of all divine revelation [c] It is through Christ that God speaks to us [d] It is to Christ that God has committed all judgment [e] It is Christ who pleads with sinners and passes sentence on them

[C] How he calls to us, and in what manner [1] He calls publicly, whosoever hath ears let him hear [2] He cries in sincerity, seeking that all should come to him

[D] Wisdom uttereth her voice in the streets: [1] The call of Christ has gone out into, all the world [2] His call to repent and turn from wickedness has been ringing since Adam and Eve committed the first sin upon the earth [a] The question is, how long will wisdom continue to cry out? [b] How long will man choose to remain, unwise?

Verse 21 - She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying

[A] Here he is referring to how wisdom is crying out, seeking man to come to Chrsit to be saved

Verse 22 - How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

[A] Wisdom asks, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? [1] How long will you follow after the world and remain ignorant of God? [2] How long will you refuse to be saved and have the knowledge of God imparted to you?

[B] How long will the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? [1] How long will man continue to scorn the ways of God? [2] How long will man continue to scorn the followers of Christ? [3] How long will man continue to follow after false knowledge, and deny the true knowledge of God? [a] These are pretty good questions, aren’t they? [b] I can’t help but wonder why man is so willing to believe the so called modern knowledge that man makes up, instead of believing God’s knowledge which has been preserved since the beginning of time

Verse 23 - Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

[A] Turn you at my reproof [1] What does that mean? [a] Turn from what wisdom convicts you of [b] Turn from wickedness and repent of your sins [2] When on repents of their wrongs, and follows wisdom (Christ) he will

[B] Pour out His spirit unto them [1] God’s Spirit will not come into a vessel which does not want him [a] God wants receptive vessels [b] God wants a vessel which desires to be cleaned and restored to grace with him [2] When a vessel – man – is willing, God will pour out his spirit on them [a] according to the first part of this verse, what made the vessel willing [1-a] They turned from their sins, and repented

[C] I will make known my words unto you [1] After one repents, and the Spirit is poured out on you, what does the spirit do for you [a] He makes the words of wisdom – Christ – understandable to you [b] He reveals God’s hidden secrets to us [c] He makes God’s word come alive [2] Understanding of God’s word does not come until the Holy Spirit show us the meaning.

Verse 24 - Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded

[A] Because I have called [1] Here we find a warning [a] God has done his part, he called – he knocked on the heart, he gave his son [2] Yet they refused him and continue to refuse even today [a] He stretched out his hand [1-a] In the case of Israel, he raised up armies to fight against them [2-a] Also in Israel he sent pestilence and plagues to them [3-a] He has been calling us here in America – [a-1] What will he send against us? [b-1] What pestilences might he send on us? [c-1] What plagues might befall us? [3] No man regarded [a] God sent punishment against man because they refused his wisdom, [b] God knocked on their door, told them to repent yet they failed to do so [c] The USA and the world today are falling farther and farther from God, and refusing to receive his wisdom or even acknowledge it. [d] God has sent punishment to many nations around the world, even to the USA in the form of terrorist attacks, hurricanes and even now, the economy, yet we have failed to acknowledge him or recognize that he is punishing us for not adhering to his wisdom. When preachers or other Godly men or women, state that God is punishing us, or trying to get our attention, they are rebuked and called nuts.

Verse 25 - But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

[A] Ye have set at nought all my counsel [1] God is saying, [a] I have warned you [b] I have told you what I will do [c] I have told you what you should not be doing [d] I have called out to you [e] I have pleaded with you [f] I have asked you to repent and turn from your wickedness [2] My counsel meant nothing to you, you regarded it as worthless

[B] Ye have set at nought all my counsel [1] All God told man they passed off as nothing [2] All that he warned them about they did not heed [3] His telling them to repent, meant nothing to them [4] They considered his counsel as nothimg

[C] I want you to consider the way it is today – [1] Is this not exactly how it is? [2] Is not man disregarding God’s word and his instructions for their life? [4] Has not God warned man over and over again? [5] Is not man lovers of self more than lovers of God? [6] Hasn’t even the church disregarded the teaching of God? [7] Has not God sent warnings to us, showing us it is time to repent and turn back to him?

[D] What is it going to take for the USA to remember God and follow him?

[E What is going to have to happen in the world before mankind remembers that there is a God who is in control?

Verse 26 - I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

[A] Wisdom “Christ” says, I also will laugh at your calamity [1] God did too much for mankind to allow them to disrespect and ignore him [2] Christ did too much by suffering and dying to allow man to continue to mock him [3] When calamity upon us, because we refused to adhere to his teaching, and follow his bidding, he will laugh at our suffering. [a] When Airplanes are hijacked and flown towards our buildings full of people, God will not stop them, instead he will laugh [b] When evil people blow up our buildings, killing many, God will not intervene, instead he will laugh, because we have brought these things on ourselves [c] When our economy fails completely, God will laugh at our pleas to restore it, because we laughed at him when he warned us. [d] When we are taken over by another country, and lose our freedoms, God will laugh at our pleas of protection, because we have fallen away and refused to obey his voice

[B] I will mock when your fear cometh [1] When we cry out to God in fear, he will mock us [a] We didn’t want him before, see what it’s like now [b] We wanted our independence from him, now enjoy it [2] I fear that too many people are disregarding God, mocking him and believing themselves to be capable of doing everything on their own [3] I fear that the actions of man is leading us down a road to destruction, a road that God will not protect us from [a] Will the innocent suffer along with the guilty? [1-a] Usually they do, at least to a certain extent, yet through it all God will continue to provide for us, and will hear our prayers, [2-a] The trick will be, not to falter nor fail in our walk with God, we must remain strong in spite of what may come, and continue to trust God even to death. [b] Will the prayers of the righteous stop God from raining down his judgment? [1-a] I truly believe that the reason we haven’t suffered any more persecution than we have already suffered is because of the prayers and praised of the saints of God [2-a] Eventually, even God will get fed up with man, and will not hold back his Wrath, He will continue to be with the saints, but will make the unrighteous suffer, Unfortunately, the righteous will suffer with them, and be effected by the same things that effect them, but if we work together, and if we continue to follow God, he will supply our needs, and we will be blessed.